Most new Baldwin teachers are just out of college or arriving from other school districts. But English teacher Jessica Mertz has moved from teaching middle school in Baldwin-Whitehall to teaching in the high school.

Mertz taught special education and language arts in seventh grade in Baldwin-Whitehall for 24 years. This year she moved to the high school to teach English and creative writing.

“I have taught only seventh grade throughout my entire career until now, so this is a big change,” Mertz said.

She already has noticed differences in teaching middle school and high school.

“It’s early at this point in the year, but I can say the kids are more self-sufficient and need less guidance. It’s a good transition for me,” Mertz said.

Mertz attended Cal U, where she got her undergrad degree in speech pathology and audiology, and then her master’s degree in education. She developed her passion for language arts early in her teaching career.

“When I first started teaching, I was a special education teacher, and I would go into classrooms and co-teach with other English teachers. From there I found that was my true passion and wanted to continue in that pathway,” Mertz said.

Her goal is to spread a positive message to her students.

“I try to make kids remember that tolerance and empathy are important, and to not be too critical or judgmental of others,” Mertz said.

Outside of school, Mertz is a sports fan for her children.

“My life is sports, and thankfully I love every minute of watching my kids play sports”

New math teacher Michael Kaufman previously taught at East Gaston High School in Gaston County, North Carolina, where a discipline issue once involved a raccoon.

“In the South, they do things a little differently,” Kaufman said. “I had to write up a kid for bringing a raccoon to school. We had a fire drill, and all the kids were crowding around the (student’s) truck, and sure enough there’s the raccoon.”

Kaufman, who got his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Duquesne, taught math for 10 years in Gaston. He remembers his time there fondly, despite his large workload.

“I was the head of the math department there. I was the curriculum leader for four of their curriculums, and I designed some of the curriculums that were used county-wide,” he said.

Kaufman works with his students and hopes to leave a lasting impression. In previous years, this has meant offering tutoring and giving recommendations for jobs, even after graduation.

“Once you’re my student, you’re always my student,” Kaufman said. “Whether I’m in North Carolina or Pennsylvania … you’d still be my student and I’d still try my best to help you out.”

Beyond being a teacher, he loves to cook in his free time.

“I come from a big family, so I tend to only have one volume of food that I know how to cook, and it’s a lot,” he said.

Science teacher Brianne Goodwin did not always want to be a teacher, but she fell in love with science because of her physics teacher at Carrick High School.

“My high school physics teacher made it really cool and really fun. It seemed like the thing to do in the future,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin then went to Clarion University for a degree in education and went to California University for a STEM certification.

Outside of classes, for two years at Carrick and then again while she was at Clarion, she played rugby.

“I started playing because it was something new, it has a high aspect of sportsmanship and camaraderie, and it looked like an interesting sport to learn,” Goodwin said. “It is a sport that requires so many different athletic abilities and body types that it was a great way to meet and socialize with people.”

She is also a big fan of watching rugby, saying that if she was traveling overseas, she would go to New Zealand to watch a game.

This is not Goodwin’s first job as a teacher. She has taught at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics for seven years, Westinghouse High School for one year, and North Catholic High School for nine and a half years.

Outside of school, Goodwin works every spring and summer for the City of Pittsburgh in their aquatics division.

“I train people for CPR, AED, lifeguarding, and I help in the summer manage the many pools that are open.”

English teacher Benjamin Aikens found his passion for teaching while tutoring students in the Hill District during a work-study program at Duquesne University.

“There was a student named Delaney, and I watched him go from failing all his classes to earning C’s and B’s,” Aikens said. “It was at this moment I realized I had a passion for teaching.”

Aikens earned his undergraduate degree from Duquesne and went on to receive his master’s degree from the Catholic University of America.

He previously taught at charter schools in Newark before spending four years in Nashville public schools. Now, as a teacher at Baldwin, Aikens hopes to offer students fresh perspectives, shaped by his unique journey into education.

“I hope I bring a different perspective,” he said. “I haven’t followed a traditional path to get here. I hope my previous experiences can especially help teach juniors and seniors because of the massive strides they are taking in life. I hope that based on my experiences, I can offer my students a sense of guidance and stability in making these massive decisions.”

Aikens said he enjoys seeing the culture of the high school, and he is surprised by how well it flows throughout the day, despite being much larger than his previous schools.

“I’m surprised by the entire flow of the school and how smoothly it functions. Coming from smaller schools, it was a lot easier to manage – I knew everyone in all the grades. So I am excited to see new faces and meet new people everyday.”

Aikens credited Baldwin students and administrators for taking pride in their school

“I feel like the students take a lot of pride in coming here, whether or not you admit it,” he said. “It seems like you guys enjoy being here. I also give massive credit to the students and administration for setting such a great culture for this massive school seamlessly.”

Special education teacher Katie LaCava was inspired by her fourth-grade teacher.

“Her name was Ms. Carson. I’ll never forget her. It was Concord Elementary School on Brownsville Road in Carrick,” LaCava said. “She used to flip her shoes off at us to get our attention.”

And so LaCava became hooked on the idea of teaching and helping others.

“I can remember pretending I was my fourth-grade teacher in my playroom,” LaCava said.

Her dreams would come true after graduating from Edinboro University. Now after 21 years of teaching, LaCava finds herself at Baldwin.

LaCava has taught many subjects, but here at Baldwin, she’s teaching special education.

“Talking to a special education student, or just in general, to someone who might look or speak a little differently than you, it’s so important to just talk to them and get to know them as teachers and as other students in the school,” she said.

LaCava promotes the inclusion of special education students.

“Sometimes special education students can get lost in the shuffle. As a teacher, we are here to empower them and show them they can be successful,” she said.

Although LaCava is excited to be part of the Baldwin community, adapting to the size of the high school was a bit of a struggle at first.

“The (New Kensington) school I came from was really small. This is huge here. It’s intimidating at first not only for the kids but for adults too. I didn’t know what hallway to turn down,” LaCava said.

New high school instrumental music teacher Emery Palmer connects with their students through video games and pop culture.

“I can often connect with my students through my interest in video games, especially Animal Crossing, because when I am not teaching, I play the background music,” Palmer said.

“I also like to read and binge watch different TV shows. I am currently on season four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I enjoy (it) because there’s no smartphones or social media playing a big role in the show,” they said.

Palmer went to college at Seton Hill in Greensburg, and they taught at Harrison Middle School, where they were band director, before they moved up to the high school this year.

Palmer enjoys their classroom at the high school more than the one they had at Harrison.

“In Harrison, I had a tiny concrete classroom, and now I have a very big classroom,” Palmer said. “I am really enjoying the new space.”

Palmer did enjoy their time at Harrison, though.

“At Harrison I had a little ‘lunch club’ of sorts, and a group of students would come visit me during my lunch,” they said.

Palmer teaches grades 9-12 stage band, symphonic orchestra, honors wind ensemble, and orchestra.

“I’ve enjoyed the moments when students play through a difficult passage without even realizing how difficult it was,” Palmer said.

They also enjoy assisting the marching band.

“We have a lot of fun and I’m really excited about the show this season,” Palmer said. “It was a lot of fun being able to hear them play through the show for the first time.”

Palmer also attends the football games.

“There is an energy and excitement that I have only ever experienced as a member of a marching band in high school,” they said.

Nicole Koutsourais was looking for a new adventure in her 10th year of teaching, so she is at a new high school and teaching in a block schedule for the first time.

The new block scheduling system allows teachers to plan more engaging lessons that allow students to participate in deeper conversation, Koutsourais said. She is teaching Algebra 1 as a single-period class, and Honors Algebra 2 in the block.

“They’re making real-world connections and learning material that is helping them to be successful in the future,” she said. “They will know what they want to apply this to outside of school in their future lives.”

Koutsourais prioritizes getting to know her students, which helps her plan lessons.

“I’m really able to learn those interests and relate them to the lessons in class to better engage them,” Koutsourais said.

Aside from her keen interest in mathematics, Koutsourais is constantly on the lookout for a new adventure with her yellow English lab, Torbin.

“I got him when Covid first hit and everything was shut down,” said Koutsourais. “Being able to walk with him was the one thing I could still do.”

Koutsourais originally started as a psychology major at Edinboro University, wanting to work with students in counseling. But after her last math class, when everyone else seemed happy, Koutsourais was sad to be moving on.

“All the other students were celebrating. I was sad,” Koutsourais said. “I put the two together.”

Koutsourais’ older sister is also a math teacher, making her slightly hesitant to follow the same path initially.

“I’m the younger one, so it’s always like I’m following in her footsteps,” Koutsourais said. “My one up is that I teach high school and she’s middle school.”

Koutsourais started her teaching career with two years of long-term placements at Pine-Richland and Upper St. Clair. She then moved on to Quigley Catholic School before it was shut down, and then she went to work at Fort Cherry School district. Most recently, she taught at Highlands School District.

The diversity and welcoming atmosphere at Baldwin has been inviting, Koutsourais said.

“Everyone seems to be so accepting and welcoming,” Koutsourais said.